Russian Media Claims It Now Has Lasers To Shoot And Damage Satellites

Artistic rendition of a satellite in earth's orbit. (NASA)

Defense One: Russia Claims It Now Has Lasers To Shoot Satellites

A defense source tells Russian media that military engineers have advanced work on the next big anti-satellite weapon.

Russian defense companies have created a plane-mounted laser that can hit satellites — at least according to an anonymous source quoted by Russian news agency Interfax. On Saturday, an Interfax report cited the source as saying that weapons maker Almaz-Antey has “completed work on the anti-satellite complex,” which includes the laser and associated ground control gear.

Independent and Western observers have not yet verified the claim. But the Russian program does exist. Last April, Almaz-Antey general designer Pavel Sozinov told Russian news agency Ria Novosti that Russian leadership had ordered the company to develop weapons that could interfere electronically with or achieve “direct functional destruction of those elements deployed in orbit.”

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WNU Editor: Defense chiefs are sounding the alarm .... Air Force Chief of Staff Predicts That We’ll Be Fighting From Space In A Matter Of Years (February 25, 2018), and reports of advances by China and Russia made the media circuit two weeks ago .... China and Russia developing ‘destructive’ weapons for space conflict, US warns (The Independent). But truth be told, all sides are in a rush to weaponize space .... The U.S., Russia, And China Are Rushing To Weaponize Space (January 26, 2018).